Public Humanities Projects NOFO 20210811-BP-BR-GE-GG-GI.pdf

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

Funding Opportunity Title: Public Humanities Projects

Funding Opportunity Number: 20210811-BP-BR-GE-GG-GI

Funding Opportunity Type: New

Federal Assistance Listing Number: 45.164

Application Deadlines:

August 11, 2021

January 12, 2022

Ensure your SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations and passwords are current.

NEH will not grant deadline extensions for lack of registration.

Registration in all systems, including SAM.gov and Grants.gov, may take up to 1 month to complete.

Division of Public Programs Telephone: 202-606-8269 Email: publicpgms@neh.gov Federal Relay: 800-877-8399

OMB control number 3136-0134, expiration date June 30, 2021 mailto:publicpgms@neh.gov

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Executive Summary The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Public Programs is accepting applications for the Public Humanities Projects program. The purpose of this program is to support projects that bring the ideas and insights of the humanities to life for general audiences through in-person programming. Projects must engage humanities scholarship to analyze significant themes in disciplines such as history, literature, ethics, and art history.

Funding Opportunity Title Public Humanities Projects Funding Opportunity Number 20210811-BP-BR-GE-GG-GI Federal Assistance Listing Number

45.164

Application Deadlines August 11, 2021, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time January 12, 2022, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time

Anticipated Announcements April 2022 (for applications submitted August 11, 2021) August 2022 (for applications submitted January 12, 2022)

Anticipated FY 22 Funding Approximately $2,735,000 per deadline Estimated Number and Type of Awards

Approximately 17 grants per deadline

Award Amount Planning: up to $75,000 Implementation: $50,000 to $400,000 Chairman’s Special Awards: up to $1,000,000

Implementation applicants in Exhibitions and Historic Places may request up to $100,000 above the ceiling amount for a Positions in Public Humanities to create a two-year, full-time staff position (or, alternately, $50,000 for a one-year period of performance, and a one-year full-time staff position) to work on the proposed project.

See B. Federal Award Information.

Cost Sharing/Match Required No Period of Performance Planning: up to 24 months

Implementation: 12 to 48 months Eligible Applicants U.S. nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, public and 501(c)(3) accredited institutions of higher education, state and local governmental agencies, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments.

See C. Eligibility Information.

Program Resource Page https://www.neh.gov/grants/public/public-humanities-projects

Pre-Application Webinar A link to a recorded webinar will be posted by May 20, 2021 Published May 4, 2021 https://www.neh.gov/grants/public/public-humanities-projects

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Table of Contents

A. Program Description

1. Purpose

2. Background

B. Federal Award Information

1. Type of Application and Award

2. Summary of Funding

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

2. Cost Sharing

3. Other Eligibility Information

D. Application and Submission Information

1. Application Package

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management

4. Submission Dates and Times

5. Intergovernmental Review

6. Funding Restrictions

E. Application Review Information

1. Review Criteria

2. Review and Selection Process

3. Assessment of Risk and Other Pre-Award Activities

4. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

F. Federal Award Administration Information

1. Federal Award Notices

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

3. Reporting

G. Agency Contacts

H. Other Information

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A. Program Description

1. Purpose This notice solicits applications for the Public Humanities Projects program.

This program supports projects that bring the ideas and insights of the humanities to life for general audiences through in-person programming. Projects must engage humanities scholarship to analyze significant themes in disciplines such as history, literature, ethics, and art history. Public Humanities Projects supports projects in three program categories and at two funding levels.

Public Humanities Projects awards support projects that are intended to reach broad and diverse public audiences in non-classroom settings in the United States. Projects should engage with ideas that are accessible to the general public and employ appealing interpretive formats.

Regardless of proposed activity, NEH encourages applicants to explore humanities ideas through multiple formats. Projects may include complementary components: for example, a museum exhibition might be accompanied by a website or mobile app.

Project topics may be international, national, regional, or local in focus, but locally focused projects should address topics that are of regional or national relevance by drawing connections to broad themes or historical questions. Projects that do not address issues of concern to wider regional or national audiences might consider local sources of funding, such as their state humanities councils. Award amounts offered to successful applicants will reflect the project’s scope and the size of its expected audiences.

Small and mid-sized organizations are especially encouraged to apply. NEH likewise welcomes humanities projects tailored to particular groups, such as families, youth (including K-12 students in informal educational settings), underserved communities, and veterans.

This program supports in-person interpretive projects; projects must be intended for in-person engagement. However, given the uncertainty of public gatherings due to COVID-19, NEH encourages applicants to address contingency plans for proceeding with programing if continued social distancing restrictions are required.

Public Humanities Projects must:

• be grounded in sound humanities scholarship

• offer an analytical perspective on the underlying themes and ideas in order to deepen public understanding of the humanities

• involve humanities scholars from outside the applying organization who contribute to all phases of the project

• attract a broad public audience or target a particular group underserved by the humanities

• offer engaging content approached through an appropriate variety of perspectives

• encourage dialogue and the exchange of ideas

Public Humanities Projects awards may support activities such as:

• meetings with scholars and other content advisers, program partners, and audience representatives

• research into the topic https://www.neh.gov/about/state-humanities-councils https://www.neh.gov/about/state-humanities-councils

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• travel to archives, collections, sites, or other resources

• development and production of program or discussion guides, exhibition labels, brochures, digital assets, publications, or other interpretive material

• design of the interpretive formats

• planning and presentation of public programs and publicity materials

• evaluation of the project’s impact

• planning and conducting project-specific training for docents, discussion coordinators, or other interpretive leaders

• development and production of curriculum guides and other materials for teachers and students

• exhibition design and fabrication, as well as crating and shipping

• conservation treatments of objects, not to exceed 15% of the NEH award

• development and construction of interactive program components

• publication costs for complementary materials, including catalogs and curriculum guides

• publicity expenses

Unallowable activities are described in D6. Funding Restrictions.

Program categories This program supports projects in three categories: Exhibitions (permanent, temporary, or traveling); interpretive programs at Historic Places; and Humanities Discussions.

Exhibitions The Exhibitions category supports the creation of permanent exhibitions (on view for at least three years) and single-site temporary exhibitions (open to the public for a minimum of two months), as well as traveling exhibitions that will be available to public audiences in at least two venues in the United States (including the originating location).

Exhibitions applicants must provide at least twenty hours of free admission each month to NEH-supported exhibitions during the period of performance.

Historic Places The Historic Places category supports long-term interpretive programs for historic sites, houses, neighborhoods, and regions that are intended to be presented to the public for at least three years. Such projects might include living history presentations, guided tours, exhibitions, and public programs.

Humanities Discussions The Humanities Discussions category supports series of public programs related to A More Perfect Union: Exploring America's Story and Commemorating its 250th Anniversary. These programs should engage diverse public audiences with humanities resources such as historic artifacts, artwork, or documents; they should be anchored by humanities experts such as speakers, panelists, or discussion leaders providing context and analysis of program themes.

Projects may include, but are not limited to, symposiums, lecture series, reading and discussion programs, analytical discussions of museum collections or theater/musical performances, lifelong learning programs, or other methods of face-to-face audience engagement or informal education. The proposed series must include at least six in-person programs and occur over a period of three months to two years.

Humanities Discussions must be:

• centered on specific humanities resources

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• firmly grounded in rigorous scholarship and thoughtful analysis

• guided by humanities scholars

• conducted without partisan advocacy

• respectful of divergent views

• free of ad hominem remarks

• devoid of bias based on ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, or race

• in adherence with NEH’s Principles of Civility

• related to A More Perfect Union: Exploring America's Story and Commemorating its

250th Anniversary

Funding levels This program supports projects at two funding levels: Planning and Implementation.

Applicants are not required to obtain a Planning award before applying for an Implementation award.

NEH encourages potential applicants to contact the Division of Public Programs for advice on choosing the appropriate funding level. See G. Agency Contacts.

Planning Planning awards are available only to exhibition and historic places applicants. NEH does not fund Humanities Discussions at the Planning level.

These awards support projects that have completed preliminary work resulting in the identification of possible analytical themes and interpretive methods that will be further explored during the planning period. Awards are typically up to $40,000 with a period of performance of up to 24 months to support activities such as:

• refining the content, format, and interpretive approach of a humanities project

• meetings and consultation with scholars, consultants, designers, stakeholders, and key partners

• developing the project’s preliminary design

• testing project components

• conducting an evaluation of the project’s likely impact

• travel related to curatorial research and exhibition loans

Awards up to $75,000 with a period of performance of up to 24 months are available for the planning of exceptionally ambitious and complex permanent or traveling exhibitions with the potential to reach very wide audiences through any of the following:

• collaboration with multiple institutional partners

• a wide-ranging combination of diverse formats (for example, exhibitions, digital resources, lecture series, symposia, neighborhood tours, curriculum guides, publications, and broadcast media)

• programming at a large number of venues

Implementation Implementation grants support projects which are in the final stages of preparation to “go live” before the public. Activities may include final scholarly research and consultation, design, production, and installation of a project for presentation to the public. The period of performance must include the required minimum exhibition time.

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Implementation awards range from $50,000 to $400,000 with a period of performance from 12 to 48 months.

The maximum size of implementation awards depends upon the program category applied for, defined as follows:

Program category Definition Maximum award Exhibitions, single-site temporary

Exhibition available to audiences at one venue in the United States for at least two months

$100,000

Exhibitions, permanent Exhibition available to audiences at one venue in the United states for at least three years

$400,000

Exhibitions, traveling Exhibition available to audiences at a minimum of two venues in the United States (including the originating location)

$400,000

Historic Places Interpretive tours, living history presentations, or other public interpretation available at a historic place for at least three years

$400,000

Humanities Discussions At least six in-person public programs presented during the period of performance and spanning a period of three months to two years

$250,000

Identifying the appropriate funding level for your project You are ready to apply for a Planning level award if you:

• are planning an exhibition or historic site interpretation (Humanities Discussions are not funded at this level);

• have conducted preliminary research, including introductory discussions with scholars, and are able to articulate major analytical ideas about your subject that you seek to explore more deeply;

• have a group of scholars from outside your organization who are committed to collaborating with you on the development of the project; and

• can articulate a vision of possible interpretive techniques and potential project elements that you would like to investigate or test with audiences. For example, ideas about the use or display of certain objects, specific concepts for an interactive activity, or ideas about the utilization of a particular space.

You are ready to apply for an Implementation level award if you:

• have conducted significant research and collaboration with scholars outside your organization that resulted in highly developed, thoughtful and articulated analysis of your subject;

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• have designed and planned the interpretive elements of your project, such as interactive activities, panel discussions, or living history presentations, and can fully describe how audiences would engage with them;

• have blueprints or drafts for various project elements, such as exhibition elevation designs, floor plans, docent or facilitator training, label text, site signage, tour scripts, or discussion agendas; and

• are ready to begin putting these plans into action to “go live” before a public audience.

Additional opportunities for Implementation applicants

Chairman’s Special Awards Applicants proposing ambitious projects of exceptional significance and impact may apply for a Chairman’s Special Award of up to $1,000,000. These projects must demonstrate the potential to address important humanities ideas in new ways, and must be likely to reach very large national audiences. Successful proposals typically feature collaboration between multiple partners and a broad combination of diverse formats. Chairman’s Special Awards are rare: NEH typically awards no more than one per year.

Positions in Public Humanities Positions in Public Humanities provide full-time employment opportunities for recent graduates with an MA or PhD in the humanities and are intended to invigorate the interpretation of the humanities in a wide variety of cultural organizations. If you are applying in either the Exhibitions or Historic Places categories at the Implementation level, you may request additional funding to support such a position. Planning applicants and Humanities Discussion applicants are not eligible to apply for Positions in Public Humanities.

You may request up to an additional $50,000 to create a full-time position for one year or up to an additional $100,000 to create a full-time position for two years. If you wish to increase annual compensation above $50,000 for a Position in Public Humanities, you must use your own non-federal funds.

Positions in Public Humanities must adhere to the following parameters:

• The position must be full-time.

• The position is entry level and is designed with an appropriate level of responsibility.

• The position must be responsible for an element of public engagement related to the larger project and should also be assigned to administer at least three other types of public programs during the period of performance. For example, the holder of the position might organize film and panel discussions, family gallery talks, and an oral history day program.

Positions in Public Humanities may not be used to support:

• part-time positions

• salaries of current staff members

• payments to project consultants

• hiring individuals who hold teaching or administrative assignments during the period of performance

• hiring individuals currently enrolled in a degree-granting program

Applications must be solicited and reviewed by the grant recipient following these guidelines:

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• Recipients should widely advertise positions to draw a diverse, national pool of applicants.

• The selection should be made by a committee convened by the project director.

Committees customarily consist of at least three members: the project director and two other humanities experts who are familiar with the project, such as other team members from the organization or scholars collaborating with the project. The committee should review all applications.

• Candidates for these positions should submit a curriculum vitae, graduate school transcript, writing sample, cover letter, and three letters of reference.

Candidates for a Position in Public Humanities must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Must be either a U.S. citizen or a foreign national who has been living in the United States or its jurisdictions for at least the three years immediately preceding the Public Humanities Projects application deadline.

• Must have completed an MA or PhD program in a humanities discipline (including public history or museum studies) within five years of the application deadline for this grant program.

• Must not be an employee, or member of the board of trustees or advisers of the recipient, or a selection committee member, or family member of any of the afore mentioned.

• Candidates must not have delinquent federal debt or be suspended, debarred, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from eligibility for covered transactions by any federal department or agency. Examples of relevant debt include student loans, delinquent federal taxes, delinquent child support payments, and delinquent payroll taxes for household or other employees (see OMB Circular A-129). To see if applicants have delinquent federal debt or other exclusions recorded in the System for Award Management (SAM), recipients should go to the SAM website; click on “Search Records,” and then on “Advanced Search - Exclusion.”

2. Background This program is authorized by 20 U.S.C. §956, et seq. Awards are subject to 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, and the General Terms and Conditions for Awards to Organizations (for grants and cooperative agreements issued December 26, 2014 or later).

According to the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act 0f 1965, “The term ‘humanities’ includes, but is not limited to, the study of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology;

comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of the social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life.”

Examples of NEH-funded projects may be found using the Funded Projects Query Form.

Learn more about NEH.

NEH Area of Interest NEH is especially interested in supporting projects that advance humanities-related work in the following area:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/circulars/A129/a-129.pdf https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title20-section956&num=0&saved=%7CKHRpdGxlOjIwIHNlY3Rpb246OTU2YSBlZGl0aW9uOnByZWxpbSk%3D%7C%7C%7C0%7Cfalse%7Cprelim https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=236bb02f01d2e050f7a5b60c88a67066&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=236bb02f01d2e050f7a5b60c88a67066&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=236bb02f01d2e050f7a5b60c88a67066&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5 https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/general-terms-and-conditions-awards-organizations-grants-and-cooperative-agreements-issued-december https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/general-terms-and-conditions-awards-organizations-grants-and-cooperative-agreements-issued-december https://www.neh.gov/about/history/national-foundation-arts-and-humanities-act-1965-pl-89-209 https://securegrants.neh.gov/publicquery/main.aspx https://www.neh.gov/about

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A More Perfect Union: Exploring America's Story and Commemorating its 250th Anniversary The task of building a more perfect Union rooted in the ideal of human equality falls to every generation of Americans, ours no less than our predecessors. The basic goals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness endure over time, even as the challenges change: from founding a nation out of colonies; to dismantling the institution of slavery; to prevailing through times of economic depression and war; to advancing civil rights for all; to strengthening our democratic institutions; to building a more inclusive and sustainable society.

NEH’s A More Perfect Union initiative encourages projects that explore, reflect on, and tell the stories of our quest for a more just, inclusive, and sustainable society throughout our history.

NEH especially welcomes projects that bring the perspective of the humanities to questions of racial justice, gender equality, the evolution of the American landscape, as well as America’s place in the world. Projects that strengthen Americans’ knowledge of our principles of constitutional governance and democracy are strongly encouraged, as are projects that address the experiences of Native Americans and other under-represented communities. In addition, NEH welcomes projects that develop innovative approaches to sustaining the nation’s humanities infrastructure and preserving its historical record.

Applicants for Humanities Discussions must respond to this special initiative.

Applicants for Exhibitions or Historic Places may respond to this special initiative, but are not required to do so.

B. Federal Award Information

1. Type of Application and Award NEH seeks new applications in response to this notice.

NEH will provide funding in the form of grants.

2. Summary of Funding You may request up to $75,000 for Planning or $50,000 to $400,000 for Implementation (see A1. Funding levels for specific information and project specific limitations).

In rare circumstances, Chairman’s Special Awards of up to $1,000,000 are available for Implementation projects that will reach an exceptionally large audience.

In addition, Implementation applicants in the Exhibition and Historic Places categories may request an additional $50,000 or $100,000 for a Position in Public Humanities.

The period of performance is up to 24 months for Planning projects and 12 to 48 months for Implementation projects.

The earliest period of performance start date for applications submitted for the August 11, 2021 deadline is May 1, 2022.

The earliest period of performance start date for applications submitted for the January 12, 2022 deadline is September 1, 2022.

Approximately $2,735,000 is expected to be available to fund an estimated 17 recipients per deadline.

https://www.neh.gov/250

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NEH will not determine the amount available until Congress enacts the final FY 2022 budget.

This notice is subject to the availability of appropriated funds, and is a contingency action taken to ensure that, should funds become available for this purpose, applications can be processed and funds awarded in a timely manner.

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants Eligible applicants include U.S. nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, public and 501(c)(3) accredited institutions of higher education, state and local governmental agencies, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments.

An eligible entity may apply on behalf of a consortium of collaborating organizations. The lead applicant would be programmatically, legally, and fiscally responsible for the award.

Individuals, foreign and for-profit entities are not eligible to apply.

2. Cost Sharing Cost sharing is not required in this program, unless federal matching funds are requested. Learn about different type of funds offered by NEH.

Cost sharing or matching is the portion of the project costs not paid by NEH funds. Cost sharing will not be considered in the evaluation of applications.

Applicants may use voluntary cost sharing for projects in which the total costs exceed the amount awarded by NEH.

Voluntary cost sharing consists of the cash contributions made to a project by the applicant, including unrecovered indirect costs, and by third parties as well as third-party in-kind contributions. Third-party in-kind contributions are non-cash contributions (such as property or services) that benefit the funded project, and are contributed by non-federal third parties, without charge, to the recipient of the federal award.

Required cost sharing includes third-party non-federal gift money that must be raised to release federal matching funds.

Applicants requesting federal matching funds must raise dollar-for-dollar cash contributions from nonfederal third parties and have them certified by NEH before the funds are released (see the NEH Federal Matching Funds Guidelines). The full amount of federal matching funds may not be available for release in the first year of a multi-year period of performance. Federal matching funds are typically distributed on an annual basis over the life of the award.

Recipients are responsible for maintaining auditable records of the source and use of cost sharing contributions. See 2 CFR §200.306.

3. Other Eligibility Information Eligible applicants may submit multiple applications for separate and distinct projects under this notice.

Applicants are not required to obtain a Planning grant before applying for an Implementation grant. Applicants may not, however, submit multiple applications for the same project at the https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/types-funding https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/federal-matching-funds-guidelines https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3aeab4e3a836f5b6807999701e518c94&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1306

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same deadline. If an application for a project is already under review, another application for the same project will not be accepted.

See Positions in Public Humanities for information regarding the eligibility of individuals applying for and hired to fill these positions.

Two or more applications for federal funding and/or approved federal award budgets are not permitted to include overlapping project costs. However, applicants may seek funding from other NEH programs for complementary aspects of the same overall project

An applicant whose project has received a prior award from NEH may request support for a new or subsequent stage of that project. Such proposals will be judged by the same criteria as others in the current competition.

NEH does not make awards to other federal entities or to applicants whose projects are so closely intertwined with a federal entity that the project takes on characteristics of the federal entity’s own authorized activities. This does not preclude applicants from using funds from, or sites and materials controlled by, other federal entities in their projects. Such resources may not be used as gifts to release NEH matching funds.

NEH does not provide financial assistance to foreign institutions or organizations. Nevertheless, otherwise eligible American institutions may apply for collaborative projects involving U.S. and foreign organizations provided they do not use NEH funds for the purpose of issuing subawards to any foreign organization, as defined in 2 CFR §200.1 and 2 CFR §200.331(a). This limitation does not preclude American institutions from obtaining the services of foreign individuals and consultants to carry out various programmatic activities on a fee-for-service basis, as specified in 2 CFR §200.459; it also does not preclude vendor contracts such as in-country transportation services in accordance with 2 CFR §200.331(b). If you are interested in submitting an application for a project involving international collaboration, consult with program staff.

Applications must be received by the deadline. Late, incomplete, nonresponsive, or ineligible applications will not be considered for funding under this notice. Applications that exceed specified page limits will not be reviewed. See the Application Components Table.

D. Application and Submission Information

1. Application Package This funding opportunity is available in Grants.gov under number 20210811-BP-BR-GE-GG-GI.

You can also find a link to the funding opportunity on the program resource page.

This funding opportunity includes five application packages per deadline, which can be found under the “Package” tab. Select the appropriate one based upon your project type. Each package includes a series of required and conditionally required forms. You will upload additional application components into the Attachments Form.

Funding Level Application package August 11, 2021 January 12, 2022

Exhibitions: Planning GE82021 GE12022 Exhibitions:

Implementation

GI82021 GI12022

Historic Places: Planning BP82021 BP12022 Historic Places:

Implementation

BR82021 BR12022

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Humanities Discussions GG82021 GG12022

The application packages for the January 12, 2022 will not be available in Grants.gov until the August 11, 2021 deadline has passed.

You must apply electronically using Grants.gov Workspace or a Grants.gov system-to-system solution. A multistep registration process is required to submit your application. See D3 Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management.

To request a paper copy of this notice, contact publicpgms@neh.gov.

Applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing can contact NEH via Federal Relay at 800-877-8399.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission Your application will include a narrative, budget, and other required forms and attachments.

Narrative Compose a narrative that provides a comprehensive description of your proposed project. Your narrative should be succinct, well organized, and free of technical terms and jargon so that peer reviewers can understand the proposed project.

Planning applicants must limit the narrative to 20 single-spaced pages.

Implementation applicants must limit the narrative 15 single spaced pages. Implementation applicants will have additional space to describe their projects in Attachment 5: Walkthrough.

All applicants should use one-inch margins and at least 11-point type.

Use the following section headings for your narrative. NEH has aligned each section of the narrative with a corresponding review criterion. Refer to E1. Review Criteria.

Nature of the request (corresponds to all review criteria) In one page or less, provide an overview of the project and its interpretive goals.

• State whether your request is for an Exhibitions, Historic Places, or Humanities Discussions project. If an Exhibition, specify if it will be permanent, traveling, or temporary. Identify the funding level (Planning or Implementation) and the amount you are requesting.

• Indicate if your request is for a Chairman’s Special Award (Implementation only).

• Indicate if your request includes a Position in Public Humanities (Implementation level for Exhibitions and Historic Places only).

• Identify your project’s formats, the subject, and the main themes.

• If your project responds to A More Perfect Union: Exploring America's Story and

Commemorating its 250th Anniversary, indicate how.

Humanities content (corresponds to review criterion 1 and 4)

• Describe the significance of the subject and its relevance to the public.

• Provide humanities themes articulating the analytical ideas the project will convey.

Theme statements reach beyond a list of topics to demonstrate the larger critical idea you want audiences to understand. Follow your theme statement with a supporting argument that uses project content, examples drawn from project resources, and the humanities scholarship (from your consultation with project scholars, their published mailto:publicpgms@neh.gov

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works, and the scholarship of other humanists) that has shaped your analysis. For Humanities Discussion projects the discussion of themes must include an explanation of their relationship to A More Perfect Union: Exploring America's Story and Commemorating its 250th Anniversary.

• For reinterpretations or updates of an existing project, describe the current content and format and explain the new humanities ideas that will be incorporated.

• For Historic Places projects, discuss the significance of the place to American history; the extent to which the interpretation will make use of the place’s attributes (the site, its location, the buildings, the landscape, or other natural or built features) in telling its story; and the extent to which the interpretation addresses central themes and issues in American history.

Project formats (corresponds to review criteria 2 and 5)

• Briefly describe the interpretive philosophy that guides the project. Explain how the final exhibition, discussion, or site interpretation will be organized and discuss the interpretive methods it will employ to engage general public audiences. Provide specific examples of techniques you plan to explore (for Planning applicants) or have designed for use in the project (for Implementation applicants).

• Provide short descriptions of all secondary formats and discuss how each will enhance public understanding of the humanities content.

• Although the primary proposed formats must be for in-person audience engagement, applicants are encouraged to share how plans would be altered to offer public programing in the event that social distancing restrictions continue to impact public gatherings.

Project resources (corresponds to review criteria 2 and 5)

• Describe the resources available at your institution or elsewhere that will support your project (e.g., archives, special libraries, collections of art or artifacts, images, documents, film, audio, or digital materials).

• Discuss the significance and quality of the relevant resources and how they contribute to the project.

• If applicable, explain how you will secure permissions or rights for key materials.

Project history (corresponds to review criteria 2 and 5)

• Provide a brief history of the project to date.

• Describe the relationship of the project to others on the topic and explain its particular contribution.

Justification for a Chairman’s Special Award (if applicable) (corresponds to review criterion 6)

• If you are requesting a Chairman’s Special Award, discuss why the project is especially significant and appealing. Explain how institutional collaborations, number of program formats, and broad reach to audiences make the project a compelling candidate for funding at this level.

Audience, marketing, and promotion (corresponds to review criterion 3)

• Describe and estimate the size of the expected audience and explain the basis for this number.

• Present a marketing plan that addresses how the intended audience will be reached. If applicable, discuss partnerships that would help promote the project.

• If you are targeting a specific audience or proposing special outreach to underserved or at-risk communities, outline the need that the project addresses. Describe your outreach

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plan, including the history of relationships you have built with those audiences or communities. Outline the approaches to engagement that you have developed based on those relationships. Alternatively, describe your strategies for establishing productive connections in the community. Explain how you will engage new audiences in thinking about and discussing humanities ideas.

• For regional projects and sites that are not yet established as attractions, provide annual tourism and local population figures as well as special characteristics and current activities of the site.

Evaluation of the project’s impact (corresponds to review criteria 1, 2, and 3)

• Explain how you will test the efficacy of planned project elements or the success of implemented projects in conveying humanities content.

• Describe the proposed process that will be used to evaluate the project’s impact, the results of any evaluation already conducted, and how the evaluation results might inform the project moving forward.

Organizational profile (corresponds to review criteria 2, 3,4, and 5)

• Provide a short profile of the applicant organization and other major partner organizations (not to exceed one page for your organization and a half page for each collaborating organization). Include information such as institutional mission, origin, and size; annual operating budget; annual number of visitors.

• Explain the responsibilities of collaborating organizations. Describe past collaborations or previous relationships (if any) amongst the partners.

Project team (corresponds to review criterion 4 and 5)

• Identify the key individuals from the applying organization and major partners who will be involved in the project.

• Briefly describe each person’s qualifications and expected contribution.

Humanities scholars and consultants (corresponds to review criterion 1,4, and 5)

• Identify the consultants from outside the applicant organization who will be involved in the project. Consultants include humanities scholars, education and public program specialists, historic site or cultural tourism experts, writers, media producers, or digital designers.

• Briefly describe each consultant’s qualifications and expected contribution.

NARRATIVE GUIDANCE

To ensure that you fully address the review criteria, this table provides a crosswalk between the narrative language and where each section falls within the review criteria.

Narrative Section Review Criteria

Nature of the request All review criteria Humanities content 1. Intellectual content and humanities significance

4. Project team and humanities advisers

Project formats 2. Format and program resources

5. Project feasibility

Project resources 2. Format and program resources

5. Project feasibility

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Project history 2. Format and program resources

5. Project feasibility

Justification for a Chairman’s Special Award (if applicable)

6. Justification for Chairman’s Special Award and/or Positions in Public Humanities

Audience, marketing and promotion 3. Audience Evaluation of the project’s impact 1. Intellectual content and humanities significance

2. Format and program resources

3. Audience

Organizational profile 2. Format and program resources

3. Audience

4. Project team and humanities advisers

5. Project feasibility

Project team 4. Project team and humanities advisers 5 Project feasibility

Humanities scholars and consultants 1. Intellectual content and humanities significance

4. Project team and humanities advisers 5 Project feasibility

Research and Related Budget You must submit a project budget using the Research and Related Budget form included in the Grants.gov application package and attach a budget justification.

Complete a single detailed budget for the proposed period of performance. The form will generate a cumulative budget.

If you are exclusively requesting outright funds, your budget should reflect only funding requested from NEH. If you are requesting federal matching funds, your budget must equal total funding requested from NEH (outright and federal matching funds) and the one-to-one required third party cost share for the federal matching funds.) Refer to the NEH Federal Matching Funds Guidelines regarding the eligibility of gifts for matching purposes. The total federal matching funds and cost share should be equal to the amounts indicated on the Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Grant Programs in the “Federal Matching” and “Cost Sharing” fields.

Required fields are indicated in yellow. Round to the nearest whole dollar amount in all dollar fields. The inclusion of a cost category on the Research and Related Budget does not automatically indicate that an expense is allowable in this program. See D6. Funding Restrictions for a list of unallowable costs. Carefully review these instructions to ensure that costs are not disallowed.

All costs, whether supported by NEH funds or required cost sharing contributions (if applicable), must be reasonable, necessary to accomplish project objectives, allowable in terms of 2 CFR 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles, auditable, and incurred during the period of performance. All costs are subject to audit, record retention, and other requirements set forth in 2 CFR 200 Subpart F.

If you charge indirect costs to the project, ensure that expenses included in your organization's indirect cost pool are not charged to the project as direct costs. See H. Indirect Costs.

https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/federal-matching-funds-guidelines https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/federal-matching-funds-guidelines https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=236bb02f01d2e050f7a5b60c88a67066&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#sp2.1.200.e https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3aeab4e3a836f5b6807999701e518c94&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5&sp2.1.200.e https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=686905e3d7f57006ca9c74e5515eea78&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#sp2.1.200.f

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Introductory Fields If not pre-populated, indicate your organization’s D-U-N-S® number, the name of your organization, and the period of performance start and end dates. This should be the same as the information provided on your SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance - Short Organizational.

Check “project” for budget type.

A. Senior/Key Person Include the names of the project director and other senior/key persons who are employed by the applicant organization and who are involved in the project. Do not include collaborators at other institutions or consultants here, as they will be included in F. Other Direct Costs.

Enter the base salary (annual compensation) and identify the number of months the senior/key person will devote to the project in the applicable box (i.e., calendar, academic, summer). Use either calendar months or a combination of academic and summer months.

If level of effort will not change throughout the year, you may use only the calendar months column. If effort remains constant, but your institutional business process requires noting academic and summer months separately, you may use both columns. If effort varies between academic and summer months, leave the calendar months column blank and use only the academic and summer months columns. If your institution does not use a nine-month academic year or a three-month summer period, include your institution's definition of these terms in your budget justification.

Enter the requested salary and fringe benefits for each senior/key person. Per 2 CFR §200.431, fringe benefits are allowances and services provided by employers to their employees as compensation in addition to regular salaries and wages. Fringe benefits include, but are not limited to, the costs of leave (vacation, family-related, sick, or military), employee insurance, pensions, and unemployment benefit plans. The sum of requested salary and fringe benefits will be automatically calculated for each senior/key person.

Salaries and wages claimed must be in compliance with 2 CFR §§200.430 and .466. Fringe benefits claimed must be in compliance with 2 CFR §200.431.

The form can accommodate up to eight senior/key persons. If you are requesting funds for additional key personnel, list them in a separate document using the same format as the Research and Related Budget. Save the document as a PDF named additionalpersonnel.pdf and attach it under “Additional/Senior Key Persons” If applicable, enter the total funds requested for personnel listed in the attachment in the "Total Funds requested for all Senior/Key Persons in the attached file" field.

B. Other Personnel For each project role described below, identify the number of personnel proposed, the total number of months, total salary, and total fringe benefits requested as described in A. Senior/Key Person. Totals will be automatically calculated.

Post-doctoral associates, graduate students, and undergraduate students In your budget justification, list names, roles, associated months, and requested salary and fringe benefits for post-doctoral associates, graduate students, and undergraduate students.

If applicable, include charges for tuition remission and other forms of compensation paid to students as, or in lieu of, salaries and wages. Such costs are subject to the reporting requirements in 2 CFR §200.430, and must be treated as direct or indirect costs in accordance https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=35fcd29238edd42c8b1f8b1628e39d47&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1431 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=35fcd29238edd42c8b1f8b1628e39d47&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1430 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=35fcd29238edd42c8b1f8b1628e39d47&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1466 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=35fcd29238edd42c8b1f8b1628e39d47&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1431 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=b76712a585433486e57dafcd521c952e&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1430

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with the actual work being performed. Tuition remission may be charged on an average rate basis.

Secretarial/Clerical In most circumstances, the salaries of administrative, secretarial, or clerical staff are included as part of indirect costs (see H. Indirect Costs). Per 2 CFR §200.413(c), direct charging of salaries for administrative or clerical staff may be appropriate only if all of the following conditions are met:

1. Administrative or clerical services are integral to a project or activity.

2. Individuals involved can be specifically identified with the project or activity.

3. Such costs are explicitly included in the budget or have prior written approval of the federal awarding agency.

4. The costs are not also recovered as indirect costs.

In your budget justification, document how direct charging for secretarial/clerical personnel (i.e., administrative and clerical staff) meets all four conditions. NEH may request additional information for these positions in order to assess allowability.

Additional Other Personnel List any additional project role(s). The form can accommodate up to six named roles. If you have more than six, combine project roles here and explain in your budget justification.

Salaries and wages claimed must be in compliance with 2 CFR §§200.430 and .466. Fringe benefits claimed must be in compliance with 2 CFR §200.431.

Do not list details of collaborators at other institutions or consultants here, as they will be included in F. Other Direct Costs.

C. Equipment Description List each item of equipment to be purchased and its estimated cost, including shipping and maintenance. Justify each in your budget justification.

You may purchase equipment if an analysis demonstrates that it is more economical and practical than leasing (equipment rental/user fees should be included in F. Other Direct Costs).

Equipment is defined as nonexpendable personal property costing $5,000 or more and having a service life of more than one year (unless your organization has established a lower level). See 2 CFR §§200.313 and .439. You may charge depreciation in compliance with 2 CFR §200.436.

Per 2 CFR §200.322, as appropriate and to the extent consistent with law, applicants should, to the greatest extent practicable under a federal award, provide a preference for the purchase, acquisition, or use of goods, products, or materials produced in the United States. The requirements of this section must be included in all subawards including all contracts and purchase orders for work or products under this award.

The form can accommodate up to ten equipment items. If you request funds for additional equipment, list them in a separate document. Save the document as a PDF named additionalpersonnel.pdf and attach it under “Additional Equipment.” Enter the total funds requested for the additional equipment in the “Total funds requested for all equipment listed in the attached file” field.

Total equipment costs will be automatically…